Nested heat exchangers

ABSTRACT

A heat exchanging apparatus may include a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, which may be flat plate heat exchangers and may be located entirely within an end tank of a third heat exchanger. The first and second heat exchangers each may include an inlet and an outlet and may be plate style heat exchangers. The entire first heat exchanger is located between the inlet and the outlet of the second heat exchanger. A first heat exchanger inlet mount surface, a first heat exchanger outlet mount surface, a second heat exchanger inlet mount surface and a second heat exchanger outlet mount surface may each terminate in a single plane. The third heat exchanger end tank may define a hole such that the hole is located aft of the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger with respect to a direction of coolant flow through the end tank.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/470,367, filed on Mar. 31, 2011. The entire disclosure of the aboveapplication is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to heat exchangers, and moreparticularly, to nested heat exchangers.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the presentdisclosure which is not necessarily prior art. Heat exchangers havegenerally been satisfactory for their intended purposes; however knownheat exchangers are generally not without their share of limitations.FIGS. 19 and 18 depict currently know configurations of heat exchangers.FIG. 18 depicts a tubular heat exchanger 2 with a first fitting 4located at a first end 6 of a tubular section 12 and a second fitting 8located at a second end 10 of the tubular section 12. Tubular section iscircular in cross-section. Tubular heat exchanger 2 is designed to beused with two fluids, which may be different fluids. For instance, afirst fluid 14 may enter at first fitting 4 and flow through tubularsection 12 in a cavity defined or formed by inside tubular wall 16 andoutside tubular wall 18. A second fluid 20 may enter tubular heatexchanger 2 at first end 6 and pass through tubular section 12 in acavity formed only by inside tubular wall 16 and then pass from or outof tubular heat exchanger 2 via the second end 10. Thus, first fluid 14and second fluid 20 do not mix or come into contact with each other andmay facilitate heat transfer between each other. Second fluid 20 mayflow over an outside surface 21 of tubular section 12.

FIG. 19 depicts a plate heat exchanger 22, which may be configured withmultiple flat plates such as a first plate 24, second plate 26, thirdplate 28 and fourth plate 30. Each plate 24, 26, 28, 30 itself maydefine a hollow interior such that each plate 24, 26, 28, 30 mayaccommodate a first fluid 32 that may flow between a top surface 36 offourth plate 30 and a bottom surface 34 of fourth plate 30. First fluid32 may enter plate heat exchanger 22 at first fitting 38 and then flowthrough each plate 24, 26, 28, 30 in a parallel fashion as indicatedwith a phantom arrow. First fluid 32 may then flow from second fitting40. A second fluid 42 may flow through gaps created by adjacent plates24 and 26, between adjacent plates 26 and 28, and between adjacentplates 28 and 30. Thus, heat transfer may occur between first fluid 32flowing through each of plates 24, 26, 28, 30 and second fluid 42, whichflows around an outside surface of plates 24, 26, 28, 30.

Tubular heat exchanger 2 and plate heat exchanger 22 only permit heattransfer between two fluids as described above. Therefore, a need existsfor a single heat exchanger that permits heat exchange between two ormore fluids and that provides a relatively small overall package.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not acomprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. Aheat exchanging apparatus may employ a first heat exchanger, which mayinclude a first heat exchanger inlet and a first heat exchanger outlet.The heat exchanging apparatus may also employ a second heat exchanger,which may include a second heat exchanger inlet and a second heatexchanger outlet. The first heat exchanger and the second heat exchangermay be flat plate heat exchangers. The heat exchanging apparatus mayalso employ a third heat exchanger, which may include numerous tubes andfins. The tubes may be arranged in a parallel fashion and positionedhorizontally when the third heat exchanger is installed in a vehicle.The third heat exchanger may also employ a side end tank that defines aliquid chamber. The entire first heat exchanger and the entire secondheat exchanger may be located within the side end tank. The entire firstheat exchanger may be located between the inlet and the outlet of thesecond heat exchanger. The first heat exchanger and the second heatexchanger may be connected together and one of the first heat exchangerand the second heat exchanger may include a plurality of platesseparated by a plurality of gaps.

The first heat exchanger inlet, the first heat exchanger outlet, thesecond heat exchanger inlet, and the second heat exchanger outlet mayeach protrude through a wall of the end tank. The first heat exchangerinlet may include a first heat exchanger inlet mount surface. The firstheat exchanger outlet may include a first heat exchanger outlet mountsurface. The second heat exchanger inlet may include a second heatexchanger inlet mount surface. The second heat exchanger outlet mayinclude a second heat exchanger outlet mount surface. The first heatexchanger inlet mount surface, the first heat exchanger outlet mountsurface, the second heat exchanger inlet mount surface and the secondheat exchanger outlet mount surface may be mounted against an insidesurface of the side end tank and may each terminate in a single plane.

The third heat exchanger end tank may define a hole such that the holeis located aft (i.e. downstream) of the first heat exchanger and thesecond heat exchanger with respect to a direction of coolant flowthrough the end tank. A longitudinal cross-sectional envelope of theentire first heat exchanger may be located within a longitudinalcross-sectional envelope of the entire second heat exchanger.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. The description and specific examples in this summaryare intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only ofselected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a side view of an automobile depicting a location of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a vehicle engine and radiator depicting anexample location of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an engine side of a radiator depicting an example location ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a side view of an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5A is a side view of another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 is a top view of an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view of a nested heat exchanger inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a top view of a plate used to transport fluid in heatexchanger;

FIG. 12 is a top view of a plate used to transport fluid in heatexchanger;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the plate of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view of the plates taken through lines14A-14A of FIG. 10A;

FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view of the plates taken through lines14B-14B of FIG. 10A;

FIG. 15 is a single plate of a two plate type of a fluid carryingchannel of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a separator plate in the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a separator plate installed within asingle plate of a two plate type of a fluid carrying channel used in thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger known to be prior art;and

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger known to be prior art.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference toFIGS. 1-17 of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 depicts a vehicle 100with an engine 102, and in front of engine 102, a heat exchanger 104,which may be an engine radiator, may be mounted to provide heat exchangebetween outside or ambient air 106 and a liquid, such as engine coolant,flowing through channels or tubes of heat exchanger 104. Throughout thisdetailed description, terms such as “in front of,” “behind,” arerelative to a front and rear of vehicle 100. Thus, when heat exchanger104 is positioned in front of engine 102, this means that heat exchanger104 is located closer to a front end 108 of vehicle 100 than engine 102.Similarly, if engine 102 is described as being located behind heatexchanger 104, this means that engine 102 is both, farther from a frontend 108 of vehicle 100 and closer to a rear end 110 of vehicle 100 thanheat exchanger 104. Heat exchanger 104, as depicted in FIG. 1, may bepart of the present disclosure, as discussed below in further detail.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view which includes heat exchanger 104, engine102, a cooling fan 112, a transmission 114, and a power steering pump116. Moreover, heat exchanger 104 may be fluidly linked to engine 102using traditional fluid lines 118, 120, which may be flexible rubberhoses, metal tubes, etc. More specifically, fluid line 118 may deliverliquid coolant from engine 102, such as from a water jacket of engine102, to heat exchanger 104 and fluid line 120 may deliver liquid coolantfrom heat exchanger 104 to engine 102, such as to a water jacket ofengine 102. A water jacket of an engine normally surrounds the cylinderswithin which combustion occurs. Cooling fan 112 may be a fan thatrotates under power supplied by a shaft 122 protruding from engine 102,or power to rotate fan may be supplied by an electric motor powered byelectrical energy. In accordance with the present disclosure, nestedheat exchangers 124 may be resident within heat exchanger 104. Nestedheat exchangers 124 may receive and discharge fluid through separatefluid lines. More specifically, in one example, fluid line 126 deliversfluid into a first fluid heat exchanger 134 and fluid line 128 mayremove fluid from first fluid heat exchanger 134. Similarly, fluid line132 may deliver fluid into a second fluid heat exchanger 136 and fluidline 130 may remove fluid from second fluid heat exchanger 136.Together, first fluid heat exchanger 134 and second fluid heat exchanger136 may comprise nested heat exchangers 124, which may or may not be asingle component.

FIG. 3 depicts a rear view of a heat exchanger 140 employing nested heatexchangers 142, which may employ a first fluid heat exchanger 144 and asecond fluid heat exchanger 146. More specifically, the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 3 differs from the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2 atleast insofar as inlets and outlets of nested heat exchangers 124 passthrough a rear surface of either a hot side end tank or cool side endtank. The rear surface being that surface that faces a rear of vehicle100. Conceivably, ports could reside at an pass out from a front side ofa radiator or one set could pass from a front side and another portcould pass from a side other than a front side. Continuing with FIG. 3,a liquid engine coolant, which may be known as anti-freeze, may enterheat exchanger 140 through a heat exchanger inlet hole 148 in a hot sideend tank 150. As depicted in FIG. 3, heat exchanger inlet hole 148 maybe located near a top end 152 of hot side end tank 150. In operation,and in accordance with arrow 161 which may represent hot liquid coolant(e.g. 190 degrees Fahrenheit) immediately after exiting an internalcombustion engine, coolant may enter heat exchanger inlet hole 148 andflow through numerous tubes 154, which may be aligned in a parallelfashion and each fluidly linked to hot side end tank 150 and a cold sideend tank 156. Between each pair of tubes 154, fins 155, which may besolid pieces of relatively thin metal, may contact tubes 154 to transferheat from tubes 154 after heat is transferred from hot liquid coolant intubes 154 to tubes 154. As the hot liquid coolant flows through tubes154, air that passes through gaps defined by tubes 154 and fins 155removes heat from surfaces of tubes 154 and fins 155, thereby removingheat from hot liquid coolant passing through tubes 154. Thus, the liquidcoolant is lowered in temperature before it flows into cold side endtank 156. The liquid coolant then flows from outlet hole 158, which maybe located near a bottom end 160 of cold side end tank 156. While liquidcoolant flows through an internal chamber 162 of cold side end tank 156,nested heat exchangers 142 are in contact with the liquid coolantresident within and flowing through internal chamber 162.

Continuing with FIG. 3, inlet 164 may be tubular and protrude through awall of cold side end tank 156. Protrusion of inlet 164 may be through arear wall that faces a rear of vehicle 10, a front wall that faces afront of vehicle 100 or a side wall, which may be a wall that neitherfaces a rear or a front of vehicle 100. As an example, inlet 164 mayconnect with fluid line 126 of FIG. 2 while outlet 166 may connect withfluid line 128. As depicted in FIG. 2, fluid lines 126, 128 may beconnected to a transmission 114 to cool transmission fluid using heatexchanger 144 within cold side end tank 156. Similarly, as an example,inlet 170 may connect with fluid line 130 of FIG. 2 while outlet 168 mayconnect with fluid line 132. As depicted in FIG. 2, fluid lines 130, 132may be connected to power steering pump 116 to cool pump fluid (e.g.oil) using heat exchanger 146 within cold side end tank 156. Inlets 164,170 and outlets 166, 168 may connect to side wall 172 of cold side endtank 156, a rear wall (as depicted in FIG. 2) or another wall of coldside end tank 156 using known structures. What wall inlets 164, 170 andoutlets 166, 168 protrude through may depend upon packaging requirementsfor a particular vehicle and inlets 164, 170 and outlets 166, 168 mayprotrude through different walls.

FIG. 3 also depicts nested heat exchangers 142′ located within hot sideend tank 150. Such a configuration may be utilized when additionalvehicle components requiring cooling of a liquid are present. Nestedheat exchangers 142′ would function similarly to nested heat exchangers142 although heat transfer from liquids flowing through nested heatexchangers 142′ into liquid within internal chamber 163 of hot side endtank 150 may be different because of the temperature of the flowingfluid within internal chamber 163 and fluids flowing through nested heatexchangers 142′.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of heat exchanger 144 and heat exchanger146 as nested heat exchangers 142. Heat exchanger 146 may have an inletmount surface 174 and an outlet mount surface 176. Similarly, heatexchanger 144 may have an inlet mount surface 180 and an outlet mountsurface 178. As depicted in FIG. 5, inlet mount surfaces 174, 180 andoutlet mount surfaces 176, 178 may or may not reside in the same planeor be at the same level to provide a flush mount to an internal wallsurface of either hot side end tank 150 or cold side end tank 156. FIGS.4 and 5 also depict a juncture of heat exchanger 144 and heat exchanger146. More specifically, in one example, heat exchanger 146 may resideagainst or adjacent a surface 182 of heat exchanger 144 and form ajunction at surface 182. FIG. 5, which is a side view drawing, alsodepicts outside surface 184 and gaps 188, 190 of heat exchanger 146, andoutside surface 186 and gaps 192, 194 of heat exchanger 144 around whichand through which ambient air 106 may circulate. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 alsodepict to scale perspective views of nested heat exchangers 142. Nestedheat exchangers 142 of FIGS. 4-7 may be made as a single piece or heatexchanger 144 and heat exchanger 146 may be made as separate pieces andthen brazed or otherwise welded or secured against each other.

FIG. 8 depicts another embodiment of nested heat exchangers 200. Morespecifically, plate heat exchanger 202 may nest within concentric heatexchanger 204. That is, the entire construction of plate heat exchanger202 may fit within and between an envelope formed by protruding inlet206, protruding outlet 208 and concentric heat exchanger 204. Plate heatexchangers may also be known as stacked plate heat exchangers due totheir structural arrangement evident in at least FIGS. 4-7. Concentricheat exchanger 204 is hollow through its center about its longitudinalaxis. By locating the entire length of plate heat exchanger 202 betweenprotruding inlet 206 and protruding outlet 208 of concentric heatexchanger 204, an overall depth of nested heat exchangers 200 may belimited to dimension 210, which is the sum of a diameter of concentricheat exchanger 204 and a protruding length of either protruding inlet206 or protruding outlet 208. Protruding inlet 206 and protruding outlet208 may protrude to the exact same plane (e.g. length or distance), or alittle less or a little more, as protruding inlet and protruding outletof plate heat exchanger 202. Plate heat exchanger 202 may be welded,brazed or otherwise held securely against concentric heat exchanger 204to form nested heat exchangers 200. An advantage of nested heatexchangers 200 is that heat transfer capacity may be increased (i.e.heat transfer between at least three fluids) while minimizing overalldepth 210 of nested heat exchangers 200 to that of just one heatexchanger.

FIG. 9 depicts another embodiment of nested heat exchangers 300. Morespecifically, concentric heat exchanger 302 may nest within plate heatexchanger 304. Plate heat exchanger 304 is similar to plate heatexchanger 22 depicted in FIG. 19. Concentric heat exchanger 302 issimilar to tubular heat exchanger 2 depicted in FIG. 18. By locating theentire length of concentric heat exchanger 302 between protruding inlet314 and protruding outlet 316 of plate heat exchanger 304, an overalldepth of nested heat exchangers 300 may be limited to dimension 310,which is the sum of a width of plate heat exchanger 304 and a protrudinglength of either protruding inlet 314 or protruding outlet 316.Concentric heat exchanger 302 may be welded, brazed or otherwise heldsecurely against plate heat exchanger 304 to form nested heat exchangers300. An advantage of nested heat exchangers 300 is that heat transfercapacity may be increased while minimizing an overall depth 310 ofnested heat exchangers to that of one heat exchanger.

FIG. 10 depicts a plate style nested heat exchanger 400, which may be afully integrated one piece dual fluid aluminum plate heat exchanger.Heat exchanger 400 may be made of any suitable material. Dual fluidmeans that each heat exchanger may have one fluid running through itwhile a third fluid, such as a fluid within a tank filled with liquid,or even outside air, depending upon the application, may flow over orbetween plates of nested heat exchanger 400. Nested heat exchanger 400may employ an outlet that protrudes from a major flat surface of nestedheat exchanger 400 that has an outlet mount surface 402 and an inletthat protrudes from a major flat surface of heat exchanger 400 that hasan inlet mount surface 404. A first fluid entering at inlet mountsurface 404 travels through a nesting or outer heat exchanger 406 beforesuch fluid passes from outlet mount surface 402. In a similar fashion, asecond or different fluid from first fluid may enter nested heatexchanger 400 at inlet mount surface 408 and travel through a nested orinner heat exchanger 412 before such second fluid passes from outletmount surface 410. FIG. 10 also depicts a separator plate area 414between outlet mount surface 402 and inlet mount surface 408. Anotherseparator plate area exists between outlet mount surface 410 and inletmount surface 404. Thus, as depicted in FIG. 10, which may be to scale,a compact and lightweight nested heat exchanger 400 may be provided. Inanother arrangement, inlet mount surface 408 and outlet mount surface410 may be arranged so that they protrude from an opposite surface orside of heat exchanger 400 from that depicted in FIG. 10, yet stillbetween outlet mount surface 402 and inlet mount surface 404.

FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view of an end of nested heat exchanger400. More specifically, separator plate area 414 may employ a firstseparator plate 416 and a second separator plate 418, which add strengthand prevent any fluid from nesting or outer heat exchanger 406 frommixing with nested or inner heat exchanger 412. Thus, nested heatexchanger 412 may be easily assembled with nesting or outer heatexchanger 406 because of separator plates 416, 418. When outer heatexchanger 406 is assembled, reinforcement collars 420, 422, 424 areplaced between successive plates to provide spacing and support to outerheat exchanger 406. A bottom cap 426 may be secured to an outsidesurface (e.g. bottom surface) of outer heat exchanger 406. Turbulators428, 430, 432, 434 may be installed within fluid flow passageways 436,438 of inner heat exchanger 406 and within fluid flow passageways 440,442 of outer heat exchanger 412 to create more turbulent flow in thefluid and enhance heat transfer away from or into the fluid traveling inthe respective passageway 436, 438, 440, 442.

FIG. 11 is a top view of a plate, such as for outer heat exchanger 406,and FIG. 12 is a top view of a plate, such as for heat exchanger 412. Astack or sandwich of plates 441, 443 are used to transport fluid innested heat exchanger 400. Channel 440 is defined by two plates brazedtogether and channel 436 is defined by two plates brazed together.Separator plate area 414 is also depicted.

FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view of nested heat exchanger 400 takenthrough lines 14A-14A of FIG. 10A, and FIG. 14B is a cross-sectionalview taken through lines 14B-14B of FIG. 10A. FIG. 14A depicts an endportion of nested heat exchanger 400. More specifically, FIG. 14Adepicts outlet mount surface 402, reinforcement collars 420, 422, 424and flow channels 440, 442. FIG. 14B depicts an end portion of nestedheat exchanger 400. More specifically, FIG. 14B depicts inlet mountsurface 408, flow channels 436, 438, 440, 442 and turbulators 440, 442.

FIG. 15 depicts plate 444, which is one end of plate 443 (FIG. 13) thatwhen combined with another plate makes fluid carrying channel 436. Plate444 may be a c-shaped part also known as a c-channel (e.g. a physicalpiece of aluminum bent or formed into a shape depicted in FIG. 15).Plate 444 has a recession 446 cut or formed into it along with a firsthole 448 and a second hole 450. Recession 446 may be cut or formed intoa bottom surface, such as a major or largest flat surface of plate 444,and also into side plate surfaces 454, 456. Recession 446 faces aninterior of plate 444 and not an exterior. Stated differently, recession446 is formed into surfaces 452, 454, 456 that face fluid flowingthrough the channel defined by two opposing plates, as depicted in FIG.10A.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of separator plate 458 that is assembledinto plate 444, as depicted in FIG. 17 as assembly 460. Separator plate458 may have substantially a rectangular-shaped body 462 withprotrusions 464 on opposing surfaces. Rectangular-shaped body 462 mayalso have protrusions 466, 467 on opposing longitudinal ends such that abottom surface 468 of protrusion 466 contacts a top surface 472 of wall474 that may be ninety degrees to surface 452. Similarly, a bottomsurface 470 of protrusion 467 contacts a top surface 476 of wall 478that may be ninety degrees to surface 452. Separator plate 458 may makea full contact fit within plate 444, such as recession 446. FIG. 17 is aperspective view of separator plate 458 installed within plate 444 of aplate type of construction that may form, when combined with anotherplate, a fluid carrying channel of nested heat exchanger 400.

Stated slightly differently, the teachings of the present disclosure mayinclude a heat exchanging apparatus 140 that employs a first heatexchanger 144 with a first heat exchanger inlet 164 and a first heatexchanger outlet 166, and a second heat exchanger 146 with a second heatexchanger inlet 170 and a second heat exchanger outlet 168. Heatexchanging apparatus 140 may also employ a third heat exchanger 104, 140with two side end tanks 150, 156 that each define a liquid chamber 163,162. Side end tanks 150, 156 may each have a vertical longitudinal axisthat runs substantially through a center of each liquid chamber 163,162. An entirety of first heat exchanger 144 and an entirety of secondheat exchanger 146 may be located within one of side end tanks 150, 156(however, inlets 164, 170 and outlets 166, 168 may protrude through wall172 and thus be outside of liquid chambers 163, 162, or inlets couldprotrude from opposite sides of tank). Of side end tanks 150, 156, onemay be a relatively hot side end tank 150, because hot liquid coolantenters it from a running internal combustion engine 102, and one may bea relatively cold side end tank 156, because the liquid coolant entersit after the liquid coolant has passed through a series of tubes 154with cooling fins 155 attached to the tubes 154. The entire second heatexchanger 146 may be located between the inlet 164 and the outlet 166 ofthe first heat exchanger 144, and first heat exchanger 144 and secondheat exchanger 146 may be connected together (e.g. by welding orfasteners) or rather, manufactured as a single component.

First heat exchanger inlet 164, first heat exchanger outlet 166, secondheat exchanger inlet 170, and second heat exchanger outlet 168 each mayprotrude through a wall 172 of end tank 156. To securely mount first andsecond heat exchangers 144, 146 within end tank 156, first heatexchanger inlet 164 may further employ a first heat exchanger inletmount surface 180, the first heat exchanger outlet 166 may furtheremploy a first heat exchanger inlet mount surface 174, the second heatexchanger inlet 170 may further employ a second heat exchanger outletmount surface 176, and the second heat exchanger outlet 168 may furtheremploy a second heat exchanger outlet mount surface 178. Such surfacesmay be mounted against an interior or inside surface of side end tank156 such that inlets 164, 170 and outlets 166, 168 may protrude throughend tank wall 172.

One or both of first heat exchanger 144 and second heat exchanger 146may be a plate type of heat exchanger and employ a plurality of parallelplates 24, 26, 28, 30 separated by a plurality of gaps (i.e. alternatingplate-gap-plate). First heat exchanger inlet mount surface 180, firstheat exchanger outlet mount surface 178, second heat exchanger inletmount surface 174 and second heat exchanger outlet mount surface 176 maybe aligned in a straight fashion such that ends of each terminate in asingle plane, as depicted in FIG. 5, to facilitate a flush mount.

Third heat exchanger end tank 156 of heat exchanging apparatus 140 mayfurther define a hole 158 that is located aft of first heat exchanger144 and second heat exchanger 146 with respect to a direction of coolantflow through end tank 156. That is, aft of first heat exchanger 144 andsecond heat exchanger 146 along a longitudinal axis of the end tank andin a coolant flow direction (from a top of the third heat exchanger atinlet hole 148 to a bottom of the third heat exchanger at outlet hole158 via flow of coolant indicated by arrow 161). To efficiently utilizespace within end tank 156, a longitudinal cross-sectional envelope ofthe entire second heat exchanger 146 may be located within alongitudinal cross-sectional envelope of the entire first heat exchanger144. Similarly, in a side view as depicted in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, theentire second heat exchanger will nest within or fit within an envelopecreated or bordered by outside surface of a plate of first heatexchanger 144, inlet 164, and outlet 166.

In another structural arrangement, a heat exchanging apparatus mayemploy a first heat exchanger with a first heat exchanger inlet and afirst heat exchanger outlet that pass through a first heat exchanger topplate surface, and a second heat exchanger with a second heat exchangerinlet and a second heat exchanger outlet that pass through a second heatexchanger top plate surface. The first heat exchanger top plate surfaceis in the same plane as the second heat exchanger top plate surface.

A first separator plate may be positioned between the first heatexchanger and the second heat exchanger, and a second separator platepositioned between the first heat exchanger and the second heatexchanger. The first separator plate and the second separator plateprevent liquid from passing between the first heat exchanger and thesecond heat exchanger. The separator plate may further employ aplurality of protrusions projecting from a main body portion of theseparator plate. Each heat exchanger may be constructed from a pluralityof half plates arranged for liquid flow. For instance two half platesmay be placed together to form a flow channel. Each half plate maydefine a recession formed perpendicular to a longitudinal centerline ofeach plate, as depicted in FIGS. 15 and 17. Each half plate may furtherdefines a plurality of holes, such as in the recession, as depicted inFIG. 15. The plurality of protrusions of a given separator plate mayreside within corresponding holes of the half plates, as depicted inFIG. 17.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or featuresof a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particularembodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be usedin a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described.The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to beregarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,”“connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may bedirectly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element orlayer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engagedto,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another elementor layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Otherwords used to describe the relationship between elements should beinterpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directlybetween,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein,the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more ofthe associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections,these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should notbe limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguishone element, component, region, layer or section from another region,layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numericalterms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearlyindicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region,layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the example embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,”“lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatiallyrelative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations ofthe device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depictedin the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turnedover, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements orfeatures would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features.Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptorsused herein interpreted accordingly.

1. A heat exchanging apparatus comprising: a first heat exchangercomprising: a first inlet; and a first outlet; a second heat exchangercomprising: a second inlet; and a second outlet; wherein the entiresecond heat exchanger is located between the inlet and the outlet of thefirst heat exchanger.
 2. The heat exchanging apparatus of claim 1,wherein one of the first heat exchanger or the second heat exchanger isa concentric heat exchanger with a hollow center about its longitudinalaxis and another of the first heat exchanger or the second heatexchanger is a stacked plate heat exchanger.
 3. The heat exchangingapparatus of claim 2, wherein the first heat exchanger and the secondheat exchanger are welded together.
 4. The heat exchanging apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising: a third heat exchanger comprising: a sideend tank defining a liquid chamber; and a side end tank, wherein theentire first and the entire second heat exchanger are located with theside end tank.
 5. The heat exchanging apparatus of claim 4, wherein: thefirst inlet further comprises a first inlet mount surface; the firstoutlet further comprises a first outlet mount surface; the second inletfurther comprises a second inlet mount surface; and the second outletfurther comprises a second outlet mount surface, wherein the first inletmount surface, the first outlet mount surface, the second inlet mountsurface and the second outlet mount surface each terminate in a singleplane.
 6. The heat exchanging apparatus of claim 5, wherein the firstinlet mount surface, the first outlet mount surface, the second inletmount surface and the second outlet mount surface are mounted to aninside surface of the side end tank.
 7. The heat exchanging apparatus ofclaim 4, wherein the third heat exchanger end tank further defines ahole, wherein the hole is located aft of the first heat exchanger andthe second heat exchanger with respect to a direction of coolant flow.8. A heat exchanging apparatus comprising: a first heat exchangercomprising: a first inlet; a first outlet; and a plurality of platesseparated by a plurality of gaps; a second heat exchanger comprising: asecond inlet; a second outlet; and a plurality of plates separated by aplurality of gaps; a third heat exchanger comprising: a side end tankdefining a liquid chamber; and a side end tank, wherein: the entirefirst heat exchanger and the entire second heat exchanger are locatedwithin the side end tank, the entire first heat exchanger is locatedbetween the inlet and the outlet of the second heat exchanger, and thefirst heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are connectedtogether.
 9. The heat exchanging apparatus of claim 8, wherein the firstinlet, the first outlet, the second inlet, and the second outlet eachprotrude through a wall of the end tank.
 10. The heat exchangingapparatus of claim 9, wherein: the first inlet further comprises a firstinlet mount surface; the first outlet further comprises a first outletmount surface; the second inlet further comprises a second inlet mountsurface; and the second outlet further comprises a second outlet mountsurface, wherein: the first inlet mount surface, the first outlet mountsurface, the second inlet mount surface and the second outlet mountsurface each terminate in a single plane, and the first inlet mountsurface, the first outlet mount surface, the second inlet mount surfaceand the second outlet mount surface are mounted to an inside surface ofthe side end tank.
 11. The heat exchanging apparatus of claim 10,wherein the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are asingle component.
 12. The heat exchanging apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe third heat exchanger end tank further defines a hole, wherein thehole is located aft of the first heat exchanger and the second heatexchanger with respect to a direction of coolant flow.
 13. The heatexchanging apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first heat exchanger andthe second heat exchanger are flat plate heat exchangers.
 14. A heatexchanging apparatus comprising: a first heat exchanger comprising: afirst heat exchanger inlet and a first heat exchanger outlet that passthrough a first heat exchanger top plate surface; a second heatexchanger comprising: a second heat exchanger inlet and a second heatexchanger outlet that pass through a second heat exchanger top platesurface, wherein the first heat exchanger top plate surface is in thesame plane as the second heat exchanger top plate surface.
 15. The heatexchanging apparatus of claim 14, further comprising: a first separatorplate positioned between the first heat exchanger and the second heatexchanger; and a second separator plate positioned between the firstheat exchanger and the second heat exchanger.
 16. The heat exchangingapparatus of claim 15, wherein the first separator plate and the secondseparator plate prevent liquid from passing between the first heatexchanger and the second heat exchanger.
 17. The heat exchangingapparatus of claim 16, wherein the separator plate further comprises: aplurality of protrusions projecting from a main body portion of theseparator plate.
 18. The heat exchanging apparatus of claim 17, whereineach heat exchanger is further comprised of a plurality of half platesarranged for liquid flow, each plate having a half plate defining arecession formed perpendicular to a longitudinal centerline of eachplate.
 19. The heat exchanging apparatus of claim 18, wherein each halfplate further defines a plurality of holes.
 20. The heat exchangingapparatus of claim 19, wherein the plurality of protrusions of theseparator plate reside within the plurality of holes of the half plates.